Certain vehicles such as, for example, vans, shuttles, busses, and the like, can be utilized to transport multiple passengers. Such vehicles can be produced and sold by an original equipment manufacturer (OEM). Alternatively, an OEM can manufacture and sell a chassis that includes a driver's cab, a frame, and other rolling components (e.g., drivetrain, axles, wheels, and the like). The OEM chassis can be sold to an intermediary that can modify the OEM chassis and/or add components to the OEM chassis to produce a modified vehicle, such as a shuttle, which is capable of efficiently transporting passengers. For example, an OEM chassis can be modified by an intermediary that performs frame modifications, such as stretching the vehicle wheelbase and/or lowering the vehicle frame. In some instances, a passenger cabin (“cab”) can be integrated with the modified vehicle, such that the vehicle can be resold as a shuttle or a bus.
As noted above, it may be required that the OEM chassis or chassis frame be modified from a high-profile configuration to a low-profile configuration such that the passenger cab of the vehicle can accommodate the loading and unloading (i.e., ingress and egress) of passengers. Such a lowering of the chassis is particularly necessary to accommodate passengers with disabilities, such as persons requiring the use of wheelchairs. Nevertheless, it can be quite costly to design and fabricate such modifications for OEM chassis. For instance, OEM chassis are typically fabricated from high strength steel. Specifically, OEM chassis often comprise ladder frames that include a pair of opposing channel rails that extend the entire length of the vehicle. Such ladder frames are generally situated in a high-profile configuration, which thereby correspond to a high position of the OEM vehicle's passenger cab. To facilitate a lowering of the passenger cab of the OEM to a level required to accommodate the loading and unloading of passengers, significant modifications to the ladder frames and to the chassis in general is often required. A significant problem with modifying such heavy-duty, high-profile, ladder frame chassis is that in addition to the substantial effort and cost required, such modifications can result in significant compromises to the modified vehicle's strength.
Accordingly, a need exists for a method and system for converting a high-profile OEM vehicle to a low-profile vehicle that accommodates loading and unloading of passengers. Furthermore there is a need to provide a method and system that allows such modifications to be performed at a reasonable cost and in a manner that maintains the strength of the vehicle.